Kacey Dawson has always lived life on the edge–impulsively, sometimes recklessly. And now, as lead guitarist for a hot up-and-coming band, she is poised at the brink of fame and fortune. But she is torn between wanting to be a serious musician, and the demons that lure her down the glittering, but alcohol-soaked path of rock stardom. A wrecked concert in Las Vegas threatens to ruin her career entirely. She wakes up with the hangover from hell and no memory of the night before, or how she ended up on her limo driver’s couch…

Jonah Fletcher is running out of time. He knows his situation is hopeless, and he’s vowed to make the most of the handful of months he has left to him. His plans include seeing the opening of his glass installation at a prestigious art gallery…they do not include falling in love with a wild, tempestuous rock musician who wound up passed out on his couch.

Jonah sees that Kacey is on a path to self-destruction. He lets her crash with him for a few days to dry out and get her head on straight. But neither of them expected the deep connection they felt, or how that connection could grow so fast from friendship into something more. Something deep and pure and life-changing…something as fragile as glass, that they both know will shatter in the end no matter how hard they try to hold on to it.

Full Tilt is a story about what it means to love with your whole heart, to sacrifice, to experience terrible grief and soaring joy. To live life with all its beauty, and all its pain, and in the end to be able to smile through tears and know you wouldn’t have changed a thing.

***FIRST BOOK IN A TWO PART DUET*** All In (Full Tilt #2) forthcoming…

“No more living life halfway. We had to go full tilt, just like the card players did. I would hit instead of stay. Always.”

Full Tilt is one of the books that is so difficult and challenging to read but totally worth it. A disarmingly beautiful, heart-wrenching love story in its purest form.

The story centers around Jonah Fletcher and Rapid Confession guitarist Kacey Dawson. These two met under unexpected circumstances one night when Kacey and her bandmates were in Las Vegas for a concert tour. She was drunk and wasted when Jonah took her to his house after he was asked by the group’s bodyguard to take her away from the crowded scene. Their story started right when Kacey woke up on Jonah’s couch and slowly got to know him better and formed an indescribable connection with him that she eventually realized that she no longer wanted to live in fame and booze but instead, she wanted to start anew and stay in Vegas.

I chose to read Full Tilt for two reasons: 1. It was highly recommended to me by my friend Hulya (click her name to read her beautiful review) and 2. I loved the cover and the blurb. Best choice I’ve ever made. The emotional whiplash I’ve experienced all throughout this book was so epic that I found myself lost in the story and unable to handle some parts that are just difficult to take in. The book was heartbreaking in so many ways. So raw and poignant.

The story came in with truly profound depth and impeccable writing. It’s my first Emma Scott read and wow, her spectacular words hooked me straight away. What’s also truly remarkable here was Kacey’s transition from someone who lives in booze as her way of coping to someone who’s changing herself for the better. It was so nice to see her making something out of herself and proving that she can stand on her own.

“My life was stale and shuttered until you. Colorless and drab until you. I kept my broken heart to myself, until you came and took it in your gentle hands and breathed life into it. Into me.”

I especially loved how Kacey and Jonah’s romantic development progressed in a deep way I don’t see very often. I loved how they supported each other and leaned on to one another. Kacey knew what she was getting herself into when she fell in love with Jonah but the fact that she continued to love him touched me so deeply.

Despite the unexplained emotions this book inevitably brought to me, it also brought life lessons: faith in life and love, the ability of a person to change for the better, and to appreciate every single thing life has to offer. Full Tilt was truly an unforgettable book. It was predictable, yes, and some scenes may be too abrupt to be real. But it’s certainly one of the best emotionally-driven books I’ve come across. When the characters and everything that happened lingered in your mind way after finishing the book, you know you’ve read a great one.